Four political forces will be represented in the 39th National Assembly, according to preliminary results from Sunday`s general elections. By early Monday evening it was still unclear whether or not the Simeon II National Movement (SNM) wins an absolute majority, Bulgarian Press Agency reported. The results available by that time suggested that the SNM was one seat short of an absolute majority. Following receipt of tally sheets from polling districts in Turkey, the pattern of representation in the 240-member Parliament was as follows: 120 seats for the SNM, 51 for the United Democratic Forces (UtdDF), 48 for the Coalition For Bulgaria, and 21 for the coalition dominated by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). Having processed 99.87% of the district tally sheets until 7 p.m. Monday, the CEC reported that the SNM had garnered 43.05% of the votes. As the parliamentary seats are to be distributed only among those parties which have surpassed the electoral threshold, the 43.05% polled by the SNM, if confirmed, will in fact ensure a 50 per cent plus majority for the party. Later in the day, however, Konstantinov said that the 36 000 votes polled by the MRF from Bulgarians resident in Turkey are enough to give that party two seats, which means that the SNM and the Coalition For Bulgaria lose to the MRF one seat each. Also by 8 p.m. Monday, the ruling UtdDF coalition had 18.24% of the votes, and the Socialist Party-dominated Coalition For Bulgaria 17.35%. The largely ethnic Turks` MRF and their coalition partners will certainly enter Parliament as well. According to the 1 o`clock data, the IMRO-Gergyovden coalition has garnered 3.67% of the votes and, if confirmed, this result will leave the coalition out of Parliament, as it is below the 4% limit for entry into Parliament. According to an Internet report by the Demetra Mathematical Team, the voter turnout was 66.70%. At the 1997 general elections the turnout was 62.93%.

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